France has resumed its intensified activity to push for a political settlement for the Libyan crisis. Its most recent move was the French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian’s visit to Libya on September 4. Le Drian headed a delegation, which included France’s envoy in Libya Brigitte Curmi and a number of political advisors from the French foreign ministry. The minister met with some of the major parties involved in the crisis in eastern and western Libyan territories. On July 25, Paris hosted a meeting between Fayez al-Sarraj, the chairman of the presidential council of the Government of National Accord (GNA) with Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, the commander of the Libyan National Army in the East. The meeting was sponsored by French President, Emmanuel Macron, and resulted in reaching the La Celle Saint-Cloud agreement to settle the political crisis in Libya. This all comes within the context of French attempts to enhance its role in resolving the Libyan crisis.
French Mediation Efforts
Le Drian visited four major cities, Tripoli, the headquarters of the GNA, Misrata, which is viewed as the biggest supporter of the Islamic movement in Libya, Benghazi and Tobruk. Tripoli and Misrata are in the western region, while Benghazi and Tobruk are located in the east, where the headquarters of the interim government headed by Abdullah al-Thani is. The interim government is affiliated with the parliament in Tobruk.
On the other side, Benghazi and Tobruk are the headquarters of the Libyan National Army led by Haftar. These meetings addressed the developments of the Libyan crisis and the role of the French mediation to reach a political settlement to the crisis based on the Paris meeting between Sarraj and Haftar in July.
During his visit to Misrata, Le Drian met with members of the municipal council and the political gathering of Misrata’s MPs. He also met with a number of military and security officers including representatives of the Al-Bunyan Al-Marsoos Operation, which led the offensive to liberate Sirte from ISIS. During his meetings in Misrata, Le Drian emphasized that Misrata is part of the solution in Libya and it has an essential role in implementing the Paris agreement. He also commended the role, which the city played in liberating Sirte from ISIS and voiced France’s willingness to help remove mines and rehabilitate those injured in battles.
In Tripoli, he met with Sarraj and the Foreign Minister in the GNA, Mohammed Siala. They discussed the Paris agreement and Sarraj confirmed his commitment to it. They also discussed the required measures to support border and coast guards and the presidential guards. During his meeting with Sarraj, Le Drian proposed holding a French-Libyan economic forum in Tripoli before the end of this year. He also announced offering 1 million Euros to the stabilization fund, which is supervised by the UN aiming to support services in Libya.
During his visit to Tripoli, Le Drian also met with the Minister of Interior in the GNA, Al-Aref Al-Khoja. They discussed security issues particularly the phenomenon of illegal immigration and means to address it through looking after refuge centers in Libya. He also met with Abdulrahman Asswehly, the chairman of the High Council of State, and they discussed the Paris agreement, and voiced the importance of rejecting violence and adhering to a political solution.
While visiting the eastern region, Le Drian met with Tobruk’s Parliament Speaker, Aguila Saleh. They voiced the importance of expediting the implementation of the Paris agreement, which was reached during Haftar’s and Sarraj’s meeting in Paris. He also discussed the Paris agreement and how to execute it with Haftar.
The Motives of Le Drian’s Visit
Le Drian’s visit to Libya has several motives. The most important of which are:
1. Making sure that Haftar and Sarraj do not violate the Paris agreement they reached during their meeting in Paris in July. The agreement’s most important points are reaching a ceasefire, uniting the military institution and holding new parliamentary and presidential elections.
2. Mobilizing more support for the La Celle Saint-Cloud agreement to settle the Libyan crisis by convincing more of the major Libyan parties, which were not present during the Paris meeting. Garnering the support of all stakeholders will eventually lead to achieving the agreement’s main aim of preventing a civil war. This war negatively affects Europe’s security due to the influx of illegal immigrants, who head to Europe from Libyan coasts.
This is in addition to this war’s repercussions on French interests in the coast and the desert. The war further impacts the French efforts in combating terrorism in Libya, especially that terrorist groups exploit chaos there to establish training camps to launch terror operations in Europe and in the coast and desert.
3. France’s concerns regarding the increased Russian presence in East Libya as it fears that Russia’s support of Haftar may push him to review his previous pledges, specifically the Paris agreement. The agreement stipulated suspending military operations, attempting to resolve the Libyan crisis politically via dialogue and holding presidential and parliamentary elections. During his recent visit to Russia in August, Haftar seized the chance to criticize Sarraj for violating many of the principles they agreed on and said he will continue to fight until all Libyan territories are liberated. While receiving Haftar, Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, implicitly criticized the French mediation, stating that it was important that the UN supervises the mediation efforts and the Libyans reach solutions on their own without foreign influences.
European Competition over Libya
The French foreign minister’s recent visit to Libya escalated the Italian-French competition over the country. On the next day after Le Darian’s visit, i.e. on September 5, the Italian Minister of Interior, Marco Minniti, visited Benghazi and met with Haftar. This meeting was the first one following months of tense relations between Haftar and Italy due to the latter’s political and military support to the GNA and to Misrata. This meeting marks a shift in Italy’s stance, which mainly focused on west and south Libya.
Italy also fears that any French-British agreements will be against its interests in Libya. These fears are due to British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson’s visit to Libya on August 23 where he met with Haftar in Benghazi. Johnson called on Haftar to commit to pledges made during the Paris meeting on July 25.
Johnson also met with Sarraj and Asswehly in Tripoli, and he visited Misrata, where he met with members of the municipal council, members of the political gathering of Misrata and of the Council of Misrata Notables and Elders. Throughout the meetings they discussed how to activate the political process to achieve political and economic stability in the region.
Britain as well gave Libya 9 million GBP to help it confront the threats of terrorism, resolve the issue of illegal immigration and reconstruct Libya. Johnson also visited the Libyan coast guards, who are being trained by the UK.
This French, British and Italian involvement in Libya reflect conflicting interests revealing European competition over influence in Libya. Italy seeks to enhance its influence in South Libya and gain a permanent stronghold there by sponsoring reconciliations among Libyan tribes in the south and funding armed militias to confront illegal immigration. Meanwhile, France claims that this undermines its traditional influence in the coast and the desert.
Italy also thinks that there should be intensified communication with the GNA in Tripoli and with the parties that support it. It believes that the success of resolving the Libyan crisis lies in a political agreement. Meanwhile, France and Britain confirm that more communication and openness towards Haftar in the east will push a settlement forward.
In an attempt to coordinate European efforts to reach a political settlement, a meeting was held in London on September 13 between the foreign ministers of Italy, Britain, the US, the French director of political affairs, and the foreign ministers of the UAE and Egypt. Ghassan Salameh, the UN Secretary General’s special envoy to Libya, also attended the meeting, which was held following a British invitation to convene and discuss mediation efforts including European and Middle Eastern initiatives. This meeting aimed to push for a political solution and prevent these initiatives from contradicting one another. The meeting also intended to support Salameh’s efforts to resolve the crisis as he voiced his opposition to the multiple European and Middle Eastern peace initiatives, as he thinks they obstruct his work in resolving the dispute.
Finally, the French Foreign Minister’s visit to Libya and his meetings in Misrata, the biggest supporter of the Islamic movement in Libya, and in Benghazi aim to get more parties to accept the French mediation among the different groups, including those affiliated with the Islamic movement. It also aims to expand French influence towards the Libyan west, as in the past its activities focused on the Libyan east and provided political and military support to Haftar to confront his Islamist rivals. France also aims to compete with Italy’s rising influence in Libya, particularly in the western and southern regions. France thinks this Italian approach undermines its influence in Libya in particular and in the coast and the desert in general.
Within this context, France will probably resume its intensified efforts towards Libya in the upcoming phase. These efforts aim to get Libyan neighboring countries and regional parties more involved in the Libyan crisis to support French mediation towards what eventually strengthens the French role in Libya. European competition, particularly Italian-French competition, will probably escalate in Libya during the upcoming phase. Efforts to reach a political solution in Libya will, thus, be undermined, unless the Europeans agree on a consensual formula that settles the crisis while taking their different interests into consideration.
